Shyamal Mazumdar’s piece, “Air India’s flight to nowhere” (May 25), strikes the right note. That Air India has seen too many “robust” plans is beyond doubt. Such plans will not produce any result, only increase the debt of Rs 46,000 crore. No one is being held accountable for the huge debt at Air India going bad.
Air India does not need plans; it requires some basic things. First, the Air India website should be designed in such a way that it offers the cheapest fare on every route. This would ensure 100 per cent occupancy. Every time I have tried to buy a ticket, Air India shows the highest fare. What kind of pricing policy is this?
After Air India has restructured its fares to show the cheapest ticket price by at least Rs 50, it should get into monetisation mode on its plots and real estate. Of course, a debt of Rs 46,000 crore cannot be repaid only through real estate, but at least some of the burden would be shed.
The other step is co-branding with some private airlines so that when they are fully booked/occupied, they can sell Air India seats at a predetermined price.
Of course, politicians tend to prefer the grandiose to the simple. They go for steps that do not produce any result but entail a huge capital outlay.
Deba Pratim Ghatak Durgapur
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